Don’t worry — for all you do-it-yourselfers out there, I’ll be sharing tons of ideas on how to plan the best “Little House” vacation to suit your needs. But for those of you who enjoy taking vacations but aren’t so crazy about all the planning involved, or who would prefer to have a knowledgeable person head up your tour, or who would just enjoy traveling with and getting to know other Laura fans, today’s tip is for you!
Little House Site Tours was founded by Barb and George Hawkins, who take groups of people every summer to the homesites. “I started Little House Site Tours because of my love for the Little House Sites and my interest in the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder,” Barb says. “We have had people come from 14 different states and 23 from other countries.”
Little House Site Tours offers several tour experiences with different options to best suit your taste. Most of the tours are caravan tours, where each family drives in their own vehicle, but the group stays together and all lodging, meals, and attractions are pre-planned for you. Both camping and motel lodging choices are available to you, and each tour includes two group picnics. A van tour is also available. Check out their website for details on each tour, to book yourself on one, or to sign up to receive their brochure.
Barb and George take care to plan special activities for their tour groups. “Our caravan pageant tour group will be having dinner with John Miller in Brookings and finding out more about his latest book,” Barb reports. “On July 25, William Anderson will be in Walnut Grove. Our van pageant tour group will be there that day and we have front row center section seats at the evening pageant. The sites have been wonderful to us. They know we are coming so they give us excellent guides.”
Taking people to the “Little House” sites isn’t just a job for Barb Hawkins. It’s a passion.
“I love the groups we have and the challenge of every one,” Barb explains. “All of our tours are different because of the people who come and all their wonderful interests. We have had pilots, custodians, computer analysts, social workers, nurses, landscapers, teachers – to name a few. Some people on our tours know a lot about Laura’s life. Others know only what they have seen on the tv series. However, by the time they have finished our tour, they are usually saying, ‘I want to read more about Laura.’”
To learn more about Little House Site Tours, check out their website at http://lhsitetours.homestead.com!
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